The year started with successful title defences for Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open and French, wins that cemented their positions as the two best players in the women’s game.
However, a surprise Wimbledon saw former Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova surge to the title at SW19 – before Sabalenka completed the hard court sweep with her US Open win on Saturday.
Heading into 2024, all three women could already claim to be Grand Slam champions, adding to their legacies with further triumphs over the past nine months.
What their successes mean is, that for the first time since 2014, no new Grand Slam women’s singles champion has been crowned this season.
A 10-year run ends
Few will be surprised that Swiatek and Sabalenka won Grand Slam titles this season.
World No 1 Swiatek has now won three French Open titles in a row and four in the space of five years, cementing her place as one of the greatest clay court players of all time.
Meanwhile, Sabalenka has arguably cemented her spot as the leading hard court player on the WTA Tour, winning three of the last four major titles up for grabs on the surface – and reaching all four finals.
The biggest shock this year was of course Krejcikova, with the former world No 2 not expected to factor at Wimbledon – where she came in out-of-form and as the 31st seed.
But the Czech knows how to win singles majors, having won the French Open in 2021, and is now a two-time Grand Slam singles champion.
You have to go back a decade to the last time all four Grand Slam singles titles were won by previous major champions.
That year, Li Na won her second and final major title at the Australian Open, before Maria Sharapova won the last of five Grand Slams at the French Open.
Petra Kvitova won her second Wimbledon title in the middle of the summer, before Serena Williams won a third straight US Open title – and 18th major overall.
New major winners
Since the start of 2015, 18 different women have won their first Grand Slam singles titles – including all of Sabalenka, Swiatek, and Krejcikova.
The streak started in 2015 with Flavia Pennetta, who won the US Open – in her final appearance – to become the only Slam champion that year outside of Serena Williams.
Several women, such as Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka, and Garbine Muguruza, went on to win multiple major titles, though there are a few one-time winners – such as Emma Raducanu and Bianca Andreescu.
2015: Flavia Pennetta – US Open
2016: Angelique Kerber – Australian Open, Garbine Muguruza – French Open
2017: Jelena Ostapenko – French Open, Sloane Stephens – US Open
2018: Caroline Wozniacki – Australian Open, Simona Halep – French Open, Naomi Osaka – US Open
2019: Ashleigh Barty – French Open, Bianca Andreescu – US Open
2020: Sofia Kenin – Australian Open, Iga Swiatek – French Open
2021: Barbora Krejcikova – French Open, Emma Raducanu – US Open
2022: Elena Rybakina – Wimbledon
2023: Aryna Sabalenka – Australian Open, Marketa Vondrousova – Wimbledon, Coco Gauff – US Open
How often does this happen?
A run this long is significant, though more often than not in recent history a new season has produced a new Grand Slam singles winner on the women’s side.
Before 2014, you have to go back to 2009 to find the last season that did not produce a new major winner; Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Kim Clijsters swept the Slams that year.
Iga Swiate2002, 2003, and 2007 are the only other years this century not to produce a new Grand Slam women’s singles champion.
While not unprecedented, the gap between 2014 and 2024 is significantly the largest, highlighting how open the women’s game has been in recent seasons.
When the 2025 season begins, all eyes will be on whether a new champion is crowned, or if forces such as Swiatek, Sabalenka, and Krejcikova add to their success.
